A Lesson of Love
by fraternator
Summary: When fifteen year old Bella Swan is sent off to St Volturi boarding school she is far from happy. But will the very handsome music teacher Edward Cullen change her view on things? ExB
1. Chapter 1

"I assure you Mr Swan, your lovely daughter shall do very well in my school. No student has left here with anything less then the high standards that this world demands in over a century and..."

I slouched in my seat and tried to drown out the voice of the old, wrinkled man in front of me. I had no desire to be here let alone listen to this snob drown on and on about it for the 50th time this week.

My name is Bella Swan, and today is my first day at St Volturi's boarding school. My father, Charlie Swan was a well known millionaire and feels that his daughter deserves the best education money can buy. So a month ago it was announced that I would be attending a high standard boarding school until I turn 18.

I was far from happy about this. It was bad enough having a father with tons of cash, but to be sent away from home to stay at a rich boarding school filled with rich snobs.... I wanted to stay back at my old public school, with my friends and my Mom.

"Isabella!" my Fathers voice pulled me out of my silent sulking.

"Yes, dad?" I answered

"Are you paying attention your new headmaster?" he demanded

Ugh! I looked up to the man in front of me who was looking at me with an amused face. Aro, my new head master, was a strange fellow who made me feel incredibly uneasy.

"Sorry, sir?" I asked timidly

"I was just welcoming you to the school, and was letting you know that your room shall be set up for you now. I hope you enjoy your time here, Isabella. You may collect your timetable and map from Heidi at the front desk"

He and my father shook hands like business men and then we left his office. When we were alone I turned to my dad.

"Dad, do I have to stay here? Can't I go back home with you?" I asked quietly, already knowing the answer.

"Bella, you know you can't" he said softly ducking down to look me in the eye.

I couldn't stop the tears escaping my eyes "But why?"

"Because you deserve the best, honey. I want you to get the best education possible so you can do well in life" he smiles encouragingly.

Liar. I knew why he wanted me gone, and my education had nothing to do with it.

He looked at his watch then turned to me "I've got to go now. I promised Sue I would be back by noon. I'll, see you in the holidays. Have fun and be good!" and then he left.

He was gone. I was alone.

I sniffed and hurried to collect my things, making a quick getaway down the halls.

It took me no time at all to get lost. Seriously, this place was a maze! I had my arms filled with books and the map in front of my face...combined that with my extremely bad coordination skills....

Yeah, so you can guess what happened next. Once my foot caught on nothing and I lost me balance I braced myself for the floors impact. When it never came I was confused. I looked up and lost my breath.

Not only had I been caught. I had been caught by t he most handsome man I had ever seen! His emerald eyes shone brightly; his wild copper hair weaved perfectly; his sculptured face and body looked as though they had been carved by the most skilled angels and his smooth, perfect, full lips were pulled into a crooked grin that made my heat melt.

"You ok there?" he asked in a velvet voice that held a slight Irish accent.

"Uh...." was all I could manage.

He chuckled, and the things that sound did to me was doing nothing to help me regain composure.

"Well, I'm Professor Cullen, but you can just call me Edward, all of the other students do" he held out he hand as he smiled down at me.

Professor? Oh god, please don't be a biology teacher! I don't think I could handle a Sex Ed lesson with this god.

"Oh, um... Hello, Professor Cullen. I'm Isabella Swan, I'm new. Just arrived today actually" I announced as I shook his hand.

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Isabella. I must say you have a lovely name"

I knew he was only saying it as a friendly compliment, but me being the inexperienced, naive 15 year old that I am, blushed furiously and looked at my feet as he chuckled.

"Thank you" I whispered

"Do you need some help? You looked a little lost before you lost your balance"

"I can't find my dorm. And the map isn't really helping" I confessed, feeling slightly stupid about this fact.

"Ah, I understand. I took me over two weeks to be able to find me way around here" he shrugged. I felt better then, at least he wasn't thinking me an incapable fool who can't read a simple map. "And do you want to know a secret, Isabella?" he whispered "I still sometimes get lost now" he winked at me.

I smiled at this. Gad, not only was he extremely good looking, but he was a genuinely nice person who wasn't unwilling to poke fun at himself and be friendly to complete strangers.

He looked at my assigned dorm and turned to me. "Ah, it seems you weren't doing too badly after all, Isabella. You just need to keep going down this corridor, take a left, and then turn into the second corridor on your right, then just look for your room number" he explained cheerfully, handing me back my things.

"Thank you, Professor"

"Don't mention it. Who knows, you may even have to help me with direction around here before you know it" he winked again and my heart caught in my throat.

Just as I was making my way down the hall I heard him call to me.

"Oh, Isabella" I turned to face him "please, call me Edward"

And with that he strode of out of my sight.

Hm...Edward. I liked the sound of that. And I certainly liked him. Maybe staying here wouldn't be so bad after all if I got to spend three years in _his_ classes...

I was so busy in my own world that I almost walked past my dorm room. I stopper outside it. Well moment of truth, I thought as I took a deep and unsteady breath and pushed open the door to room 105.

I was hardly even in the room when I was bombarded by a girl, just slightly smaller then me, with pixy like features and black, short, spiky hair and a very wide smile.

"Hey, I'm Alice Marie, you must be Bella Swan!" she greeted

I suddenly felt at ease. She seemed welcoming and pleasant enough.

"Uh, yes. It's nice to meet you" I answered

"Oh, I've been looking forward to your arrival for so long!" she beamed as she bounced slightly on the balls of her feet "it's going to be so great to finally have a roommate!"

I would disagree with her there. I liked to have my own privacy most of the time. But she seemed like a nice person from what I had seen so far, so maybe sharing a room with her wouldn't be so bad.

Once we entered the room Alice started to walk me through the rules and times for certain things. The room wasn't so bad. It was big enough for two people, but the dark greens and maroons didn't exactly give off the most cheerful and homey vibe.... there were two single beds that weren't exactly uncomfortable, but nothing like my bed at home; there were two mahogany wood desks with lamps and draws; one large dresser (Alice pointed out which draws were mine) and a door that lead to a medium sized bathroom.

Alice's side of the room looked slightly more personal then mine as she had added a few personal touches such as pictures, blankets and other small trinkets.

"So, did you find your way here alright? I know this place is built like a maze and takes some getting used to" she smirked

"Well, I did get lost at first, but I ran into Professor Cullen, and he helped" I didn't need to say just how literally I 'ran into' him.

"Cullen? Which one?" she asked

There were more?! Then I remembered him telling me to call him Edward.

"Um, Edward" I corrected

"Oh!" realization crossed her face "sorry, but there is also Emmett. Though technically I suppose he is 'Coach' Cullen. They're brothers. Most students call them by their first names so not to get mixed up"

Ah, so that's why he wanted to be called Edward!

"So, Edward huh?" she gave me a knowing look which made me feel nervous "he's good looking, right. All the girls here swoon for him"

"Is he? I didn't really notice" I lied

She gave a tinkling laugh "Well, you're the first, though I must admit that I don't really go for him either"

"Well he was very pleasant and helpful"

"Yeah, totally. He's good to have a laugh and a chat with, but I only have eyes for one man"

She got a dreamy look in her eyes when she mentioned her guy.

"Besides" she continued "Edward doesn't date. The only thing he is passionate about is music"

"He teaches music?" no way, the man taught one of my favourite subjects.

"Yeah. Do you play anything?"

"Piano, and sing a little...but not in public" we both giggled

"Well, he'll like you then. Piano is Edward instrument and he has been dyeing for one of his students to take it up."

"Does he play well?" something we had in common!

"Oh, yes. He plays beautifully. You have to hear him sometime"

"Definitely" I agreed.

We continued to chat about life in the school; our families, friends and lives outside the school. She told me about the people to stay clear of and the people that would make good friends.

By the end of the night I decided that I liked Alice, she was a genuinely nice girl and was a lot of fun to hang out with. All in all, for the rubbish school I thought it would be, it wasn't looking so bad...and one thing was for sure; I was definitely looking forward to my music class tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

The next morning i woke up to the sound of a very annoying beeping noise.

"Ung!" I groaned as i reluctantly raised my head to look at the flashing bed side alarm clock that was the culprit of my disturbance. I hit the button a little harder then necessary to stop the noise and then let my head drop back onto my pillow.

_Stupid school provided clock! Figures it would be the most annoying sound in the world..._

I debated weather or not to rebel against my father and skip classes today, but decided against it. Who was I kidding? Me skipping class? I was _way_ too mush of a wuss for that. Besides...I _really_ didn't want to miss Edwards's music class today.

With that thought, I made my way to the bathroom to get ready.

Whilst brushing my teeth I began to think about how I had changed in less then one day. Before coming here I had never found any boy or man attractive in the slightest. I mean I wasn't blind, I could tell if a guy was good looking or not, but I have never been attracted to any of them.

Sure i got asked out, but i would always decline (politely of course).And now this one man has the power to make my heart race and my stomach twist. He even had me dragging my behind out of bed just to go to his lessons!

_Bella, he's your teacher! What is wrong with you? You shouldn't be behaving like this! Get it together, girl, it'll never happen! _

Duh! I thought. I knew nothing could ever happen. That didn't mean that I couldn't daydream a little.

_Yeah, yeah, make sure you keep it that way._

Jeez, the voice inside my head wasn't all that cheerful this morning. Way to dampen my mood...

"Morning" Alice chirped at she danced in, fully dressed in her school uniform of a black skirt, white blouse, maroon and green striped tie and black jumper- looking totally bright and breezy. Huh, guess she's a morning person.

"Morning" I croaked, Alice giggled at my voice.

"Don't do mornings then, huh?"

"Nope. They've never agreed with me" I tried my best to smile at her, but it just ended up looking like a grimace.

"Oh, c'mon, get dressed so we can head down to breakfast" she instructed while laughing at my expression.

And with that she exited the bathroom. Sighing dramatically I got back to the task at hand.

Once fresh and clean (and looking slightly less dead) Alice and I set off for he main hall, where breakfast was being held. As we walked I noticed a lot of eyes scanning on me, as groups whispered and gossiped to each other. After a while it started making me feel very uncomfortable, and I was finding it very hard to resist the urge to run back to my room a hide.

Once we had our trays filled with cereal and toast Alice lead us to an empty area on one of the huge mahogany, benched tables, where we took our seats.

"Well, you seem popular" Alice observed. Oh, so she noticed.

"Evidently" I sighed

"Not liking the attention?"

"I prefer to blend in and not be the centre of attention to be honest" I admitted.

"I guessed as much. You never struck me as the in-your-face centre-of-the-room type" she nodded

"I wish they would all stop staring!" I grumbled

"Don't worry. You're just the new news. It'll blow over eventually" she attempted (unsuccessfully) to comfort me.

Just then, a boy with curly blond hair and bright blue eyes came and sat by us.

"Hey, Ali. Who's your friend?" he asked with a thick southern accent.

"Oh, hey, Japer." I looked at her questioningly when I noticed her voice had gone slightly breathy "This is Bella, the new girl remember? She's my new dorm buddy!" The way she was looking at him made me suspect that this was the guy she 'only had eyes for'.

"Nice to meet you, Bella. It's good to know that Alice finally has a roommate to keep an eye on her" Jasper held out his had for me to shake.

"Nice to meet you too, Jasper" I answered, taking his outstretched hand.

"I can't believe I'm finally meeting you in person. You've been a hot topic around her for quite some time" he smirked.

I groaned in frustration, which made him look at me in confusion.

"She doesn't like attention" Alice explained

Jasper laughed at that "Well, _you_ two will get along great then"

Alice just rolled her eyes "oh, shut up"

Before Jasper could respond, we were joined by another boy our age. He had long chocolate brown hair, gray eyes and a cheerful grin.

"Jasper, my man!" he hollered at Jasper

"Hey, Peter. How are you, Dude?" Jasper called back. They then proceeded to do a strange, rehearsed hand-shake routine.

I heard Alice mumble "Boys...typical" under her breath before she continued to eat her cereal.

The guy called Peter seemed to just notice me then and gave me a warm smile "Hey! I don't believe that we've met" he held out his hand to me "I'm Peter"

"Nice to meet you. I'm Bella" I replied

His eyes widened slightly and a look of realization crossed his features. "Bella Swan? _The_ Bella Swan?!"

I repressed the urge to groan _again. _

"The one and only" Jasper smirked teasingly "but don't go on about it, she's shy"

I felt the familiar and annoying blush spread across my face and quickly looked down, in the hope it would go unnoticed.

"Ah, no worry, Bella" Peter assured me "My Charlotte's the same way" his face seemed to light up when he spoke of this Charlotte girl.

"Where is Charlotte anyway?" Jasper asked while he dived into his scrambled eggs.

"She's running a little late." Peter answered "She should be here any minuet"

As if on cue, a very pretty, petit girl, with long silvery blond hair that fell in waves down her back and turquoise eyes came over and sat between Alice and Peter.

"There she is" Pete said in a soft voice as he smiled widely, putting his arm around her small shoulders, pulling her to him, and kissing her temple.

You could practically feel the love radiating from them. I felt the need to look away, feeling like a peeping Tom intruding on their privet moment.

"Hey, Charlotte, this is Bella" Alice introduced us.

She gave me a shy smile and a small nod, but didn't speak. I could see now what Peter had meant when he said Charlotte was also shy; but this girl seemed to be even more timid then me.

"Oh, God. Brace yourselves people. Don't look now but i think we're about to have company" Jasper warned in a low, bleak voice.

At this the rest of the group became tense. Jasper looked annoyed, Alice looked concerned and Peter pulled a scared looking Charlotte closer to his side.

I wasn't sure what was wrong with them all until I saw a group of older and unpleasant looking students heading our way. They all looked as frightening as each other, but there was one in particular that stood out. He had dirty, long sandy hair that was pulled into a pony tail at the nape of his neck; a broad, built chest and piercing catlike eyes that seemed to burn as they rested on you.

When they reached us the guy with the pony tail leaned over Alice, one hand resting on the table either side of her. Alice's nose wrinkled in distaste.

"Hey, gypsy. Who's your new friend?" his voice hissed like a snake, as he leered at me.

A furious looking Jasper shot out of his seat and onto his feet as he gave the guy a deathly glare. "Back off, James!" he demanded.

"Or what?" James challenged, seeming amused by Jaspers temper.

"c'mon, James lets leave these losers" a fierce looking woman with fiery red hair moaned.

"In a minuet, Victoria" James snapped.

"James, we're gonna get in trouble" a guy with dark skin and dread locks warned.

"I said in a minuet, Laurent" James almost growled back.

"I'll give you till three to move away from her" Jasper threatened.

If anything that seemed to amuse James even more. He stood there looking ready for a good show.

Before Jasper even had a chance to count they were interrupted by a loud, booming voice from behind.

"Is there a problem here, fellas?" We all turned to see a huge man that looked like he was built up of pure muscle. He had the same bright green eyes as Edward but had short brown curls.

At the sight of the intimidating man James slowly removed his hands from the table and moved away from Alice.

"No problem at all, Coach" James answered through gritted teeth.

"There best not be." The Coach warned as he moved towards Jasper and clasped him on the shoulder "I can't have my two star football players havin' problems with each other now can I?" he stated in an almost patronizing voice.

"No, Coach"

"Glad you agree. Now get goin'" The Coach moved him head in a way that dismissed him.

James seemed reluctant at first, having to be pulled away by an anxious looking Laurent, but after one last glance at me he turned and strode off.

When he was gone the mood seemed to lighten and the tension seemed to lift.

The coaches booming laugh, as he slapped jasper playfully on the back, was the ice breaker that made us all feel lighter and less stressed.

"Think you could have took him, eh, Jaz?" the coach asked in a teasing voice, and instantly he didn't seem so scary anymore.

"Of course i could" Jasper insisted indignantly "he's all talk, i could take him down any day"  
"Whatever you say kid" He Chuckled before turning to Alice "And how is the lovely Miss Alice this fine morning?"

"I'm good thanks Emmett. You?" Alice answered

"I'm great as always. So, has Jazzy over here finally manned up and asked you out yet?"

He let out another booming laugh, along with Peter, when Jasper and Alice both turned beet red.

"No such luck, Emmett" Peter answered for her.

"Kids today" Emmett sighed while shaking his head sorrowfully.

He turned to me and grinned, showing two dimples on his cheeks. "And you must be Miss Bella, I'm Coach Cullen- but just call me Emmett"

"Hello, sir"

"Ung, please don't call me sir. It makes me feel old" he winked before looking at his watch.

"Well kiddies, i got to go. Try and keep out of trouble while I'm gone, will ya?"

"Will, do" Jasper and Peter both answered while giving him a salute.

And with that he was gone. I guessed that was Edwards brother, but before i could ask the bell rang for first period, and i was pulled to my feet by Alice.

The day passed by without much more drama, besides the previously mentioned whispers and glances m way. I had most of my classes with Alice, who helped me dodge any unwanted questions from gossip seekers.

Now i was headed to the lesson i had been looking forward to all day: Music. I didn't have this lesson with Alice, but i did have it with Jasper, so the conversation i was having with him was distracting me slightly from the butterflies that were swarming in my stomach.

We entered the classroom and my eyes immediately fell on the perfect man that was currently leaning back on his desk and looking down at a stack of papers in his hands.

It was a simple and casual pose, but i still had never seen anything more stunning in all my life.

When we had all taken out seats (mine nest to Jasper) and only a few talking voices filled the room, he looked up. I noticed a few girls in the corner of the room flutter their eyelashes and sigh dreamily as the gazed at him. God i hope i wasn't that obvious.

I recognised two of them as Lauren and Jessica (Alice had pointed them out to me in one of my earlier classes). They were both pretty, blond, made up and looked older then they were. I couldn't compete with them. I may as well just stop dreaming now.

"Okay, class" The velvet voice called everyone to attention "we will start today off with a quick starter activity"

There were a few collective groans through the class, but he ignored them.

"First, l will draw a notation, and then i want you to raise your hands to tell me the answer"

He then proceeded to draw on the white board at the front of the room. I recognised it instantly and was about to put my hand up, when i stopped myself.

I had resisted the urge to answer questions all day to not draw attention to myself, and i knew that this lesson should be no different.

When no one offered an answer i couldn't stop myself. My hand shot up.

"Miss Swan?" Edward asked hopefully

"A Minim, Sir" I answered

"Very good" he smiled, and my heart fluttered "and could you tell me what a minim is?"

"A half note"

"Excellent"

The girls in the corner turned to glare at me for receiving praise from him, but i couldn't find it in me to care.

The rest of the starter passed by the same, with me answering every question right and receiving praise from Edward.

After about five minuets Edward turned back to the class.

"As you all know, today is reserved for instrument practice, which does not mean you sit and do nothing for an hour. You all have a practice exam coming up and i expect you all to be of the highest standard by then" He spoke sternly "now, i want you all to take your instruments and find yourself an empty room to practice"

With that the class stood and exited in a rush. I stayed seated and turned to Jasper questioningly.

Knowing my problem jasper turned to Edward "Edward, where do you want Bella to go?" he asked

Edward turned to look at me and i had to fight to control my breathing under his gaze.

"You play piano, right?" he asked in a confident voice.

"Um...yes. How did you...?" i was curious to how he knew that.

"You have pianists' hands" he answered knowingly.

Jasper snorted at the name "Pianist" he giggled, and i couldn't help but smirk at his childishness.

Edward rolled his eyes but a small smile tugged at his lips. "Jasper, you go ahead, I will take Isabella to where she needs to go"

Jasper exited a few seconds later, leaving Edward and I alone.

"Um...could you call me Bella please? I prefer Bella"

"Of course" He nodded

He then led me through the door at the back of his classroom. When i entered the room i gasped at the sight before me. There stood a spotless, grand piano that shined in the sunlight coming from the window. It was black and glossy and perfect.

I had never seen a more beautiful instrument.

"Lovely isn't it?" Edward said in an admiring voice.

"Yes" i agreed in a breathy voice. I couldn't stop myself as i went over and stroked the smooth keys.

"Since you do not have an assigned piece yet, you can have a play around for today's lesson" Edward called before disappearing through the door in which we came.

As soon as he was gone i got to work. I decided to play one of my favourite pieces that i knew from memory. I close my eyes and let my hands glide over the ivory, and soon the room was filled with a beautiful ringing melody.

When it came to an end i held down the last key to let the note hover in the room. I slowly opened my eyes and yelped when i was Edward standing just a few feet away from me, staring at me in what can only be described as awe.

"Sorry to startle you" he apologised "but i couldn't help myself. That was beautiful. How long have you played?"

"Um, about nine year now i think" i squeaked, still not recovered from my original shock.

"It shows" was all he said.

He came closer then, and i felt as if my heart was in my throat. He came closer still, all the while starting at me. But before he could get too close the bell rang out suddenly, making me jump.

"You should get going. You'll be late" he swallowed hard and then gave me a tight smile.

Without a second thought, i jumped up, grabbed my bag and practically sprinted out into the hall. I shook my head a few times to try and clear it-no suck luck. That had been intense. I walked in a half dazed state to my next class. My thoughts filled with Edward.


End file.
